Deep Sky Creations

Ultimate Emulator / System

Game Boy Advance

The 32-bit handheld, linked across the internet.

RazorGBA plays Game Boy Advance cartridges with every standard save type and Internet Linked Play for two. It needs a Game Boy Advance BIOS you provide; there is no built-in replacement.

2001

Platform Nintendo

In Ultimate Emulator Supported
Core
RazorGBA
Firmware
Required
Game files
  • .gba
Players
One per console
Online
Native & Linked Play
Rendering
Original resolution

01 / Current support

Where Game Boy Advance stands today.

Status describes the core, not every game. Compatibility is always title-dependent.

Supported
Owner acceptance is recorded for the core or named play mode; compatibility remains title-dependent.
Core
RazorGBA, a first-party core included with Ultimate Emulator. It is chosen automatically for Game Boy Advance games.
Unrated
No comparable per-core performance rating is claimed.
Release note
BIOS required. Individual multiplayer-title compatibility varies.
Cheats
Free. In the Game Menu's Cheats section, choose + Add Cheat Code and enter a code you have. There is no built-in cheat list, and cheats are switched off in online multiplayer sessions.

02 / Your collection

The files it plays.

These are the Game Boy Advance game files RazorGBA opens. Ultimate Emulator does not supply games; add them from your own collection.

Game files

  • .gba

Set up

03 / Firmware & BIOS

A BIOS you provide.

Game Boy Advance games cannot start until its BIOS is added. You add it once, and Systems shows Ready.

Required
A Game Boy Advance BIOS of 16 KiB. There is no built-in replacement, so every game needs it, and Ultimate Emulator ships none. The file's name does not matter: choose it with Choose BIOS File, and Ultimate Emulator checks its size and structure before using it.

  1. Open Manage BIOS

    In Systems, select Game Boy Advance and choose Manage BIOS. Its firmware page lists each file the system uses and whether it is required.

  2. Choose the file you own

    Check What file do I need?, then use Choose BIOS File, or Choose Firmware Folder if you keep your firmware together.

Set up

04 / Input

How it plays in your hands.

Connect a controller and it is mapped automatically. Change the layout for every game, for this system only, or for a single game in Settings → Controllers.

Game Boy Advance in Ultimate Emulator

  • The console's own controls: D-pad, A, B, L, R, Select and Start.
  • For a game with a light sensor: raise the light level with the right trigger or I, and lower it with the left trigger or K.
Controller Setup

05 / Picture

The original picture, on a modern screen.

Window mode, Fit and Integer Scale, aspect ratio, pixel filtering and effects come from Settings → Graphics, for every system or for one game.

Resolution
Drawn at its original resolution, then scaled to your window with Fit or Integer Scale and your choice of pixel filtering and effects.
Renderer
Shown for information. The system's built-in engine chooses how it draws, with a safe fallback.
Graphics

06 / Your progress

In-game saves and save states.

The game's own

In-game saves

  • Every standard Game Pak save type, SRAM, Flash and EEPROM, is detected automatically and kept as one save file per game. Cartridge clocks take their time from your PC.
Ultimate Emulator

Save states

  • Available for local play: Quick Save and Quick Load, saved states in the State Manager, Auto-Save and Auto Resume.
  • Coordinated multiplayer sessions have their own state policy.

Rewind is not integrated with this core.

Learn more

07 / Play together

Together, across two PCs.

A system profile does not make a single-player game multiplayer. The game decides how many can play.

On one PC
One player per console. Linking a second console happens across PCs, with Internet Linked Play.
Across PCs
Native Multiplayer, with ROM Mode. Both PCs run the same game in step, and control passes between the two players. Online sessions need Premium for everyone taking part.
Linked play
Replicated GBA Link Play; title-dependent

Internet Linked Play

  • Two Game Boy Advances on two PCs. Each PC runs both consoles; only your controls cross the internet.
  • Both players need the same game. Link Play starts by itself when your friend opens it, and both games restart together.
  • Two players today, and Game Boy Advance games link only with Game Boy Advance games. Link compatibility varies by title.
  • There is no linked play between two consoles on one PC.
  • Save states are not available during a linked session.
Multiplayer

08 / Honest compatibility

What to know before you play.

Current limits of the included core, as of this release.

Known limitations

  • Single-cartridge (multiboot) link play and the Wireless Adapter are not supported.
  • Games with a real-time clock or a light sensor cannot be played in Internet Linked Play or Native Multiplayer.
  • Cartridge hardware other than the clock and the light sensor, such as motion sensors and rumble, is not supported.
  • A save file whose size does not match the game is not converted: saving is switched off for that session and the file is left untouched.
Region
One model worldwide, so there is no region setting.
Troubleshooting

09 / Gaming History

Why it mattered.

How Game Boy Advance works in Ultimate Emulator is this page. Why it mattered is in the Gaming History collection.